Research at CESL

Welcome

The Center for English as a Second Language offers numerous research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, UA faculty, and scholars to conduct research for CESL. A variety of research approaches and topics are possible at CESL. At the current time, CESL is especially interested in research that examines the following topics:

ESL student proficiency achievement and assessment

University student retention and success after IEP studies

Curriculum articulation

Learner autonomy

Content area teaching and ESP developments

SITE AUTHORIZATION VS. IRB APPROVAL

CESL site authorization must always be completed before you begin to recruit participants or collect any kind of data at CESL. In every case, if you want to collect data of any kind at CESL, you are required to obtain a site authorization from CESL before you begin.

Your application to the UA Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects Research is a separate process from your application for CESL site authorization. Requirements for IRB approval depend on the nature of the project. CESL cannot answer questions regarding the UA IRB approval requirements or process. For assistance with your IRB application, please contact the UA Human Subjects Protection Program at VPR-IRB@email.arizona.edu, or consult the website: http://rgw.arizona.edu/compliance/human-subjects-protection-program .

CONDUCTING YOUR RESEARCH AT CESL

There are several kinds of research projects and researchers who collect data at CESL. Each project type has its own set of requirements, so it is important for you to determine the kind of project you will be doing, and apply in the correct way.

Undergraduate/graduate students doing a project only for a university course or independent study

Undergraduate/graduate students observing CESL classes only for a university course or independent study

Graduate students doing a thesis/dissertation or academic research for publication/presentation

UA faculty members doing academic research

Visiting scholars from other universities doing academic research

REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATION

1.UA student research for course project (no public presentation or publication)

If you are gathering any type of data at CESL that is exclusively for an assigned project in a UA course, a copy of the course syllabus that describes the assignment must be submitted to CESL, and it is not necessary for you to complete the full CESL site authorization process. Research that is approved by CESL as part of a course assignment may not be used for publication. If you believe that your project falls into this category, then you may submit your course syllabus with assignment description to Dr. Sumayya Granger at sracy@email.arizona.edu, or Julianne Hammink at hammink@email.arizona.edu .

If you intend only to observe one or more CESL classes, please consult the classroom observer page for details and application form. http://www.cesl.arizona.edu/observations . Up to 9 hours of CESL classes may be observed as a courtesy. Class observations beyond the 9-hour limit will require you to register for a practicum.

2.Thesis/dissertation research or other academic research for presentation/publication (UA students and UA faculty)

If you intend to use the data that you collect at CESL for research that will be published or presented in any way, then you are required to apply for both CESL site authorization and IRB approval. Proof of the approval or exemption of your project by Human Subjects/IRB is required as a part of final CESL site authorization.

Graduate Student Research

UA students wishing to conduct research at CESL may do so as part of an Internship/Practicum (which has additional components) or an Independent Study. Ideally, applicants will submit materials at least one month prior to desired start date.

Qualified graduate students selected to conduct research for CESL will receive graduate credit for research experience, mentoring, potential publication opportunities, and an opportunity to work closely with leaders in the field of ESL teaching and leadership.

45 hours of work must be done for each credit earned.

Dates of the Independent Study should align with UA term dates. Please see the UA Academic Calendar.

Upon acceptance, student may register for units under HUMS 599, or possibly under his/her home department with approval.

Students should check with their advisors about the applicability of their credits.

Please send a current CV and letter of interest in research topic above or other suggested topic, via email, to the Assistant Director of Academic Support, Dr. Sumayya Granger at sracy@email.arizona.edu to apply for approval to register. Ideally applicants will submit these materials at least one month prior to desired start date.

Student researchers are responsible for enrolling in UA credits and covering all financial tuition and fees during the research project.

CESL SITE AUTHORIZATION APPLICATION

Your application for CESL site authorization will require you to submit a number of documents, in addition to responses to the application questions. To complete your application quickly and efficiently, you should prepare these materials beforehand. You will notice that materials and responses for the CESL site authorization application are often the same as those requested by the Human Subjects IRB application, so the amount of additional work required to complete this application is minimal.

For your convenience, here is a list of materials and information required for the CESL site authorization application:

Your contact information

The title of your proposed study (a working title is fine)

Your hypotheses or research question(s)

Reasons for choosing CESL as your research site

Data to be collected

Proposed dates of data collection, and length of data collection

Planned observations

CESL student involvement in your research

Number of students involved

CESL instructor involvement in your research

A short separate paragraph of the study’s objectives including researchers contact information to be emailed to all participating teachers

How your research is connected to themes of second language acquisition

Application

Please submit your application and materials to CESL at least a month beforehand, to guarantee that your review and authorization are complete before you plan to begin research.

Conducting One's Own Research at CESL

If you are interested in conducting your own research on topics other than those requested above, please follow the CESL Research Protocol and Expectations for Researchers at CESL (explained below).

EXPECTATIONS FOR RESEARCHERS AT CESL

In order to ensure that research does not disrupt teaching and learning at CESL, we ask you to please read the CESL research protocol before beginning your research at CESL, and observe the following courtesies:

1. All recruitment of study candidates must be done by the researcher and not CESL teachers.

2. Once you have IRB approval for your study, the CESL Directors will notify CESL faculty. Teachers who wish to participate will contact the researcher. If not a classroom based project, the researcher may arrange to meet with the students outside of class to recruit subjects for the study.

3. Contact teachers who respond and arrange how to contact their students.

4. Sign the visitors’ book in CESL room 100 or 101 and plan to arrive at the classroom a few minutes before the class begins and stay until the end.

5. Introduce yourself to the teacher and re-explain the purpose of your visit to him/her before the class begins.

6. Ask about where to sit and how/when it is best to distribute any necessary handouts or forms.

7. In general, minimize your class disruptions.

8. Submit a summary of your findings to both the Director and all participating teachers upon completion of your project.

9. During the project, it is expected that all procedures (data collection, collecting forms, etc.) shall be completed by the researcher and not fall to our teachers or staff.

SHARING YOUR RESEARCH

As a part of your research process, CESL requests that you share your findings with CESL faculty and administration. There are a number of ways to do this. For example, you might present to CESL faculty or write a précis of your findings.

Thank you for your interest in conducting research at CESL. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Observations

From the CESL Mission Statement: “[S]erve the linguistic and professional development needs of the University of Arizona and the greater global community by offering high-quality professional development and mentoring for teachers, supporting research in language learning, providing program evaluation services, and providing networking opportunities for educational professionals in order to help teachers and programs succeed in a wide variety of educational contexts.”